


a little louder now

by lowtides



Series: come on, come on, come on [2]
Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, M/M, Multi, also the john/ryes is REALLY minimal in this if that's not your thing, i enjoy scarring nick rye, like it could be seen as platonic if you skip the end bit, literally just crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-20 19:40:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16562021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lowtides/pseuds/lowtides
Summary: The five unfortunate times Nick gets a glimpse of the Deputy and Jacob—and the one time the Deputy gets a glimpse of something else.





	1. 5 + 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> scene one takes place during the end of _come a little closer_ , the rest is all post-fic.  
> also i cannot for the life of me name things, so bear with me as nick and kim's daughter constantly goes unnamed. (they have a name for her, they DEFINITELY have one, i'm just the fool who can't think of what it should be.)

**1**

The first time Nick hears something he shouldn’t, he _really_ wishes he was a goddamn time traveler.

“Dep said she was goin’ up to the Whitetails soon, and like, I ain’t goin’ with her but I bet she’s gonna call ya soon for air support,” Sharky had radioed him. “Think it’s a good idea if you just radio her now, her stubborn ass might just try to go on her own.”

Sounded like a good idea at the time. The Deputy has freaked him out with disappearances and fake deaths one too many times, he might as well take initiative and call his good friend before she fake dies _again_.

Nick hops into his plane, flipping his sunglasses on and checking if the airstrip’s clear.

 _Forgot to radio her, Nick_ , the logical voice in his head ( _kim’s voice, of course_ ) reminds him.

He digs out his radio, tuning into the frequency they use when they’re out kicking ass. He holds down the talk button, ready to say hey when he sees a damn _monster_.

“Oh, _shit!”_ he yelps, voice cracking as it climbs three octaves higher. He drops the radio and scrambles out of _Carmina_ , shaking the tiny spider off his hand. It scurries off and lands on his jeans. _Worse._ Nick is glad he’s alone so that no one can see the little dance he does to shimmy this _evil_ off of him.

Vaguely, in the midst of his panic, a sound is coming from inside his plane, something blaring from the radio he dropped in his seat. Sounds like someone’s talking, a voice a lot lower than Dep’s.

The spider falls and scurries away in the dirt. Nick laughs with relief and hurries back into the plane before he misses whatever his radio is saying. What if it’s urgent? What if the Deputy’s in trouble and he missed a crucial moment because he was scared of a fucking spider?

He fumbles with the radio in his seat—the thing’s going haywire or something, sound cutting in and out like Dep’s having a hard time pressing the button on the other side.

“Please don’t be dying,” Nick mutters as he finally gets a steady grip on the radio.

And that’s exactly when the radio starts transmitting to him in longer intervals. A few seconds of sound comes through before the interval breaks off, it sounds like… groaning? _Ah shit, is she hurt?_ Something must be stopping the Deputy from properly communicating with him, it’s like the talk button on her radio keeps getting pressed on and off and on and off.

Then Nick starts hearing _more_ through the cutting static.

_“Fu—yes—acob—”_

Nick almost drops his radio. Okay, that’s definitely the Deputy.

_“Tell m—again—sweethea—”_

Oh _no_ , Nick makes a strangled noise, chiding himself for how long it took for this to click in his head. That’s Jacob Seed’s voice. They’re not in trouble. They’re probably lying on Dep’s radio.

More moaning and Jacob’s fucked out voice blares stilted through the radio. _“—ou come—ound—cock—”_

“Nope. No, no, no, oh Jesus Christ no.” Nick’s can feel his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

He turns the volume all the way down. Then he tunes out of the frequency. Then he turns the radio off. Then he takes out the damn batteries.

Nick is… _god_ , he needs to go scrub his ears with bleach. He’s a grown-ass man, but just— _ew_. He could have gone his whole life without hearing one of his friends get fucked by one of the biggest assholes he’s ever met.

When he meets Dep back at the bunker the next day, he can’t look her in the eye.

 

**2**

The world is _ending_.

Nick pulls Kim and the baby close as everyone braces themselves for the tremors that run through John’s bunker.

Pastor Jerome and John stand on the mess hall’s tables, taking in a proper headcount of their people. Nick is fucking worried, and from the looks on Kim and his friend’s faces, it seems they’re all wondering the same thing. The goddamn _Collapse_ is really here, and they’re all here and accounted for—all of them except the Deputy.

“Where is she?” John demands as he barges up to them. Nick didn’t even see him hop off the table and cross the room. John grabs Sharky’s—the person nearest—shoulders and shakes him. “Where the fuck is the Deputy?”

Sharky stumbles over his words in surprise. “Shit, don’t look at me—I don’t know!”

“Why the hell do you care?” Nick scowls at John, locking eyes with him and regretting it immediately. John’s blue eyes are wide wide wide, almost manic with that near snarl on his face. It just makes Nick feel more and more panicked about everything.

“Because wherever she is, my brother probably is as well!” John sneers and roughly lets go of Sharky. “Jacob’s not here, he hasn’t made it to the bunker yet. And he won’t _fucking_ answer me when I try to radio.”

“Saw her this morning,” Grace says, her usual calm tone laced with worry. “Then she went off to take care of some shit in the Henbane, I don’t know.”

“The Henbane?” Jess asks sharply. “That’s pretty fuckin’ far from the bunker, shit.”

“I saw Jacob earlier today as well,” John says, _slightly_ calmer now, but his chest is still heaving when he breathes. Makes sense to Nick now, why John’s losing his shit—his brother is missing during the end of the fucking world. “We had breakfast together, then he went with…”

John trails off, craning his neck and looking around the crowd of people in the mess hall. His eyes lock on someone nearby, Nick can’t tell who it is from the flood of freaked out people. _“Pratt!”_

“What is it?” comes a gruff voice from the sea of people. Nick can see him now, Deputy Pratt standing with some defectors, urgently going over something on a clipboard. There’s a wolf at his feet, and though it’s not attacking anyone it doesn’t look too happy with its current company.

“You were with Jacob today, weren’t you?”

“Sure, for like ten minutes,” Pratt replies, some snark in his tone. “Then Rook radioed him, and he just barked some orders at me and bolted.”

The bunker shakes again, booming sounds from the outside world reverberate within the thick metal walls. The baby starts crying in Kim’s arms.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Kim soothes, rocking the baby back and forth in her arms. Nick looks down at his wailing daughter and brushes his palm along her tiny head.

“The Gate,” John says quietly. Nick looks back up from the baby to see John watching them, something in his panicked expression softening. “It’s getting too dangerous to wait for stragglers,” he turns on his heel and starts walking away, towards the metal staircase leading up. “We have to close the Gate.”

“Oh, no way you’re leaving Dep out there!” Nick lets go of Kim and strides after him, pushing through people.

John runs up the stairs and Nick follows him up as he shouts after him. The lights go in and out as the bunker shakes another time, Nick bracing himself against the rails to stop himself from tripping up the steps. John, the lithe asshole he is, seems undeterred by the tremor and keeps climbing, shoes tapping against the metal steps.

“That’s your fucking brother too!” Nick hollers, resuming his sprint up the stairs. “You son of a bitch, you can’t just leave them out there!”

When he finally reaches the end of the seemingly endless stairs, he stops for a second to catch his breath. John stands right at the entrance of his bunker, hovering over the door’s control panel.

The massive bunker door is only open halfway, but Nick still has to brace himself against the force of rushing winds that come barraging through, sending his hat flying right off his head. The air is scorching hot and smells terrible, as if Nick is breathing right into the exhaust of an overheating engine. Nick looks out through the door, looking at the fiery skies and trees fucking ripping out of the ground. _Fuck, the Deputy’s a fucking goner._

“Look at the chaos, Nick,” John raises his voice over the howling of the wind. He stares down at the big red button on the panel that Nick guesses is the door control, and there’s something in his voice. Something like uncertainty—John may be talking to Nick but it sounds like he’s trying to reason with _himself_. “I can’t leave the bunker open any longer.”

He’s right, he’s right and Nick _knows_ he should let him close those doors, his wife and daughter’s lives inside the bunker are at stake, but goddammit that’s his friend out there. Nick grabs John by the collar of his probably expensive as shit shirt and yolks him away from the control panel. “You’re _not_ closing that damn door!”

John snarls and twists out of his grip, shoving him back. “I don’t want to do it, but at least my judgment isn’t as clouded as yours!”

Nick’s not exactly proud of it, but while the world ends outside, he and John start wrestling over the controls like two kids fighting over the same toy. A few moments pass of the two of them just cursing and throwing each other against the railing, and Nick freezes.

John shoves him back, red-faced and glaring, and smooths back his hair. “Have you finally come to your sense—”

“Wait, wait, you asshat—d’you hear that?”

Something roaring over the wind outside, like a car—no, a truck. It’s getting closer, fucking speeding. Then, it stops.

And then the Deputy comes sprinting through the bunker door. She stops once she’s inside, paying no mind to John and Nick, and whirls around to shout, “Come on, hurry!”

Jacob Seed sprints through the door next, and a couple of feet away from him Nick hears John let out a breath. Once Jacob’s in, the Deputy hurries over to them—the the door controls—and slams the button down.

“Dep!” Nick exclaims, flooding with relief.

As the door mechanically swings to a close, metal groaning, Dep finally notices them.

“Oh, hey,” she nods, panting slightly. Her face is smeared with soot—and with a glance, Nick sees that Jacob’s face is dirty as well. Both of them look like a mess, parts of their jackets singed, some blood splattered here and there, their hair both messy and tousled from the unforgiving winds.

“Jacob,” John says, walking over to his brother and clapping him on the arm. “Thank God you made it.”

“You too, John,” Jacob says, but he doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to his brother. He and the Deputy only have eyes for each other.

“What the fuck happened?” Nick asks. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Crashed my seaplane,” Dep says—just about the same time Jacob mutters, “She crashed her plane.”

Nick laughs in disbelief. “Shit, you okay?”

“I’m good,” Dep says, stepping closer to Jacob. “We’re alive.”

“Fuckin’ alive,” Jacob agrees, then leans down and kisses the Deputy fierce. Nick thinks—hopes—they’d just stop there, but then Jacob starts backing her up against the bunker door, and they’re both making these nasty, needy sounds, and then Dep starts pawing at his belt—

“Good fucking Lord,” John mutters, rolling his eyes. He turns on his heel and starts down the stairs.

“Uh, guys?” Nick says with a grimace. “Everyone’s downstairs, do you wanna…”

Neither of them pay any attention to him. The bunker shakes another time as the outside world thunders, and Jacob just uses the momentum from that to hoist Dep up and pin her to the door as she wraps her legs around his waist. It’s when Nick hears belts being unbuckled and zippers dragging down that he decides he’s going to nope out of there too.

Nick starts down the stairs, hurrying faster when the Deputy and Jacob start to get _louder_. He heard enough that last time with his radio mishap, he does _not_ need to hear any more.

He passes John down the stairs, overtaking him with his need to flee from the moans. The guy only sighs and shakes his head when Nick passes him by.

“Like rabbits,” he hears John mutter.

 

**3**

Eight months into post-apocalypse life living in the bunker of his not-anymore-but-still-sort-of archnemesis, Nick is not drunk.

Okay, maybe he’s a little drunk.

It’s Tuesday night, meaning it’s poker night. Well, _was_ poker night. Nick is currently on his way back to his room, a noticeable amount dessert rations fewer thanks to Jess winning the game tonight.

They don’t usually drink a lot, but tonight a whole bunch of people couldn’t make it to the poker game, so it left Nick, Sharky, Jess, and Hurk to consume enough alcohol for about eight people. The fun of it went on pretty late, later than usual, so Nick does his best to be _extra_ quite hobbling through the dark residential halls.

His room is one of the bigger ones—it’s a room for his _family_ , after all—so the residential wing he stays in is full of all sorts of ‘important’ folk of the county, full of people who managed to score bigger rooms.

Just as he’s nearing his door, he hears a shout in the room he’s passing. A raw almost agonized shout, followed by a loud thump of something hitting the cold metal floor. A body hitting the floor.

The surprise of it sobers Nick up a bit, just a bit, and his eyes widen when he realizes that this is Dep’s room. Common sense stomped out by the vodka in his breath and all that, Nick cracks open the door, worried.

“Dep, everything okay?” He slurs quietly, maybe too quietly because Dep hardly notices him.

The huge mass on the floor next to the bed is Jacob Seed, his lower half tangled in a blanket, and Nick’s hazy brain remembers. Dep _and_ Jacob’s room. Jacob is a sweaty, shuddering mess on the floor, bolting upright with wide eyes that dart everywhere but don’t seem to actually _see_ anything.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, Jacob,” Dep soothes quietly in the dark, rolling out of their bed to kneel down next to him, arms going around to hug his head to her chest. “You’re awake now, it’s fine, baby. It was just a dream.”

Suddenly, those dark circles that are always under Jacob’s eyes make sense to Nick.

Jacob doesn’t say anything, just buries his face against her and breathes heavily as she shushes quietly, her hand stroking the buzzed side of his head. Dep catches Nick’s eyes in the dark, as if she’s suddenly remembered that someone was at the door.

 _We’re fine,_ she mouths, waving a hand in a sleep-slow shooing motion. _Go._

Nick’s already closing the door, letting them be, but he thinks he sees the Deputy mouth _go before he sees you_ as he quietly shuts the door.

Invasive enough as Nick was just now, his drunken ass is glad Jacob didn’t notice him there. Enemies no more, the guy still would have probably killed Nick on the spot for witnessing something like that.

 

**4**

Nick knows kids—babies especially—are messy, but it doesn’t mean he’s gonna laugh every time his daughter pukes on the floor.

It doesn’t happen often, but he guesses whatever new food Kim tried to feed her today did _not_ sit well with her picky little belly.

Kim is laughing at him. Nick loves it—her witch-cackle when something is just _so_ funny—but right now he’s too busy being grossed out to enjoy the sound. There’s a splat of baby vomit on the floor, on his shoes, and his little girl is grinning a tiny toothed smile at him in her high chair like she didn’t just make a mess.

“You’re gonna make _me_ clean this up, aren’t you?” Nick asks, cringing when he drags his shoes away from the puke.

“Of course I am,” Kim laughs, then immediately sobers into a serious, dead-eyed expression as she burns him with her gaze. “I did the last five diaper changes.”

Nick chuckles weakly. “Whose keeping count?”

A deadpan, “I am.”

“Yeah, ‘kay, fine I’ll go get the—shit do we have a mop?”

“We have paper towels.”

Nick wrinkles his nose. “I don’t wanna touch it.”

“Nick,” Kim raises a brow. “You’ve literally touched grosser things handling her.”

“But it’s _puke_.”

Kim sighs and shakes her head, a small smile on her face when she dabs some of the sick off the baby’s chin. “I think there’s a supply closet down the hall, Dep’s going in and out of that place all the time. Don’t know how much she likes to clean or something, but I know there’s a mop in there.”

“Gotcha,” Nick says. He salutes her and walks out of the room, trailing a bit of puke off his shoes behind him.

“You’re gonna make someone slip with the mess you’re spreading,” Kim singsongs as Nick leaves the room.

Nick scoffs a _nah_ as he walks the hallway’s short distance to the supply closet. He stops in front of the door, grumbling little complaints under his breath like _my damn shoes, fuckin’ puke ugh, why does she have to be so adorable that i can’t be pissed about all the puke_.

He swings open the door, and he makes a shocked, strangled noise because things just get _worse_. There’s the supply closet interior—shelves stacked with cleaning supplies and rags, a broom on the side, the Deputy on her knees by a puddle of jeans, and Jacob Seed’s _bare fucking ass_.

And here’s the fourth time he’s seen _too much_ of Dep and Jacob’s relationship. Why, just _why,_ does he keep seeing them like this?

Thank _fuck_ it’s only Jacob’s ass facing him, because there’s no way in hell he would survive seeing whatever the Deputy’s doing to his front.

The—the _sucking_ noises stop and he hears the Deputy, eclipsed by the moon of Jacob Seed’s pale ass, say, “Shit, who the fuck is—” she leans to the side and sees him, her face turning tomato red in an instant, “ _Nick?_ What the—go away!”

Jacob, to his credit, doesn’t look embarrassed at all. He turns his head deathly slow, regarding Nick with the calmest, scariest expression he’s ever seen on anyone in his life. He’s not smiling, but he’s all teeth. “Do you fuckin’ need something, Rye?”

There’s a strain to his voice, and Nick can’t tell if it's because he’s holding back on _murdering_ Nick or holding back— _no, no, not fucking going there._

Nick holds Jacob’s gaze, looks the monster right in the eyes to show his strength—and also because if he looks away then the guy’s ass would be the alternative. His voice is surprisingly steady when he speaks, but it still cracks a bit. “I—I uh, just need the… the mop.”

Jacob, barely moving, takes the mop next to him and extends it towards Nick.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” the Deputy mutters somewhere below.

Nick takes the mop wordlessly, too uncomfortable and terrified to say anything else, and swings the supply closet door shut. Then he’s alone in the hallway, contemplating what the _fuck_ just happened.

“Hey, Nick!” Someone calls out down the hall, near his room. Nick glances—it’s Hurk, smiling and waving as he walks—and he weakly waves back at his friend, his other hand tightening around the mop.

Nick gets a rush of adrenaline—the kind you get from a near-death experience—and the next thing he knows he’s yelling at the closet door. “Why the fuck are you two in there anyway? Your room is right there!”

He juts the mop out, gesturing with it to their room down the hall. They can’t see what he’s pointing at but he doesn’t give a damn. He’s just—fucking _flummoxed_. He could have gone his whole life without seeing Jacob fucking Seed’s ass.

He hears something quiet on the other side—Jacob’s low laughter. Dep’s voice is muffled and shrill through the door. _“It was closer, fuck off!”_

A yelp echoes down the other end of the hall. Hurk slips on the puke Nick’s shoes tracked out, and falls to the floor with a thud.

 

**5**

Grace takes a sip of her morning coffee. “If we’re talking about the unluckiest person in the room, it’s definitely Nick.”

“No way,” Dep scoffs. “I know it’s been, like, a year but do you guys not remember the _many times_ I was kidnapped?”

“Yeah, and now you’re _with_ one of them,” Sharky counters with a mouthful of his omelette. “So yeah, Po-Po I don’t think that counts anymore.”

“Well, what the fuck makes _you_ so unlucky, then?” Dep asks, pointing her fork right at Nick. He shrinks back from the fork in his face and shrugs. Next to him, his daughter laughs excitedly in Kim’s lap. The Deputy’s attention is immediately moved to her goddaughter. She lowers her fork and starts cooing at the baby in a sugary voice. “Aw, who’s the cutest baby in the bunker? You are! Yes, you are! Good girl!”

“It continues to worry me that you talk to her the same way you talk to Boomer,” Kim remarks.

“What can I say? I have no idea what I’m doing around kids. Dogs though, they count as babies.”

“Sure, Dep. Sure.”

“But seriously, though,” Nick says, frowning. “You _really_ don’t know what makes me unlucky? Do you know how many times I’ve seen or heard you and Jacob going at it?”

“Darling,” Adelaide drawls from the other end of the table, “everybody’s heard them.”

The Deputy’s cheeks pinken. She tries to hide it behind her mug but Nick’s already seen it. “Yeah, well, everyone’s heard you too, Addie.”

“Yeah,” Grace says, “but Nick’s _seen_ things.”

“You told her?” Dep fires at him.

Nick puts his hands up in surrender. “It wasn’t on purpose! Grace is just… a natural confidant.”

Several people at the table nod, unanimously agreeing.

Grace shrugs. “I listen.”

“Oh!” Kim gasps. “You’re talking about when Nick saw Jacob’s butt in the supply closet!”

Behind Nick, someone chokes on their coffee. _“What?”_

Nick and Kim twist in their seats, turning to see that John was walking by, most likely away from his Peggie table to refill his coffee—coffee that he’s just spilled.

“Oh god. You are _not_ a part of this conversation,” Dep groans at John, dropping her face into her hands.

John, with a sharkish grin that makes Nick’s skin crawl, throws his leg over the bench seat and settles in the empty space next to Kim. She doesn’t protest—out of both her and Nick, she’s the one who sort of reconciled with John Seed sooner than Nick. He isn’t even sure if he’s even _fully_ comfortable yet with John’s presence as an ally instead of an enemy, but he’s getting used to it.

“Oh, I’m part of this now,” John sneers, leaning closer to Kim when he notices the baby on her lap reach for his sleeve. The baby gurgles happily, crumpling the material of his sleeve in her tiny fist. Oddly enough, John doesn’t seem to mind. Nick makes a mental note to ask Kim just how often she thinks John’s been around babies.

The Deputy on the other hand, despite being closely linked now with John due to her relationship with Jacob, still remains bitter towards him. No one’s really seen any bad blood between them for a long time now, they just constantly pick petty fights with each other like bratty teenagers.

“We can’t keep talking about this,” Nick says nervously, looking around the mess hall. “What if Jacob hears this? I’m pretty sure he was gonna kill me in that supply closet.”

“Yeah, he was gonna kill you,” Dep murmurs, which does _not_ help the fear Nick feels.

John waves a dismissive hand. “Relax, he’s off training the night shift guards. He can’t hear you,” he leans closer over the table, practically leering at the Deputy. “Now, let’s go back to your humiliation.”

“Want me to chip off your other ear, motherfucker?”

“None of us are armed.”

Nick notices the Deputy’s hand tighten around her butter knife as she sneers, “Oh really now?”

“Guys,” Kim scolds, “no murdering at the table.”

“Do it,” Jess encourages from her seat next to Grace. “It’s so boring around here.”

Dep makes a face and lets go of the butter knife. “Fine.”

John smirks, leaning back and turning to him and Kim. “So. Nick’s supply closet mishap, do continue.”

Nick groans at the memory flooding back to his head. “Please don’t make me remember what I saw.”

Dep shoots him a deadpan expression across the table. “Stop being dramatic.”

“His ass… it haunts me.”

“Nick, it was an ass, relax.”

“It was _Jacob Seed’s_ ass,” Nick near shrieks at the Deputy. “He—He’s hurt so many people—”

The Deputy rolls her eyes. “Nick, I’ve been hearing that same spiel for over a year now—”

“—and I saw his fuckin’ butt!” 

“That makes two people at this table,” Grace says, nonchalant. The Deputy glares at her.

John looks over at the Deputy, grinning like he’s enjoying every second of this. “Was he embarrassed? Jacob? God, what was the look on his face when Nick opened the door?”

“He barely reacted,” Nick answered for her. “His expression was fuckin’ scary. I thought he was gonna snap my neck right there.”

“I don’t know,” Dep shrugs blithely, stabbing a sausage off her plate. “You kinda killed the mood, Nick. I think he was just focusing on keeping it up.”

 _Oh god._ Nick shakes his head and covers his ears. “Dep, _please_. I’m already haunted by his ass, don’t make me actually picture his dick.”

His daughter, ever perceptive, giggles in Kim’s lap and says, “dick.”

Sharky chokes on his omelette, Dep has to reach over and start hitting his back as he coughs violently.

“Shit,” is all Nick can say.

Kim, to her credit, just starts cackling instead of destroying Nick on the spot. “Oh my god, this is amazing.”

John takes a calm sip of the remainder of his coffee, raising a brow at Nick. “Frankly, I’m surprised that’s the only word she’s picked up from this conversation.”

The Deputy sighs and stands from the table. “Alright, as much as I’d love to hear my goddaughter spew more profanities, I got shit to do. You good now, Sharky?”

Sharky, face flushed from his choking, shovels more food into his mouth and gives her a thumbs up.

“Cool,” Dep claps her hands and sweeps her gaze across the table, acknowledging everyone. “I’ll see you guys around. And John, go fuck yourself.”

Everyone waves and mutters half-hearted goodbyes.

John only nods at the Deputy, practically baring his teeth. “Likewise.”

It’s bizarre to Nick that that’s not the two of them on civil terms, but _friendly_ terms.

Nick honestly gets whiplash thinking of how they all got here. Cozy in John Seed’s bunker, Peggies and Resistance peacefully having breakfast next to each other, John sitting next to Kim and _playing_ with his kid without Nick having an aneurysm.

It’s fucking bizarre.

Breakfast wraps up quickly after the Deputy’s departure, the group at the table dwindling in numbers until it’s just Nick, Kim, and John. Kim and John end up talking animatedly about the fucking water filtration system or something, and soon Kim is asking him if she can take a look at the maintenance issue his Peggies are having trouble with.

John gladly shows her the way, and Nick ends up in the residential hall with his daughter, taking her back to the room.

Passing one door down from the Deputy’s room, he hears a small scream and the sound of glass breaking. He turns his head curiously towards her door. Shit, she’s alone in there, John had mentioned Jacob’s supposed to be training Peggies all day.

What if she’s hurt and needs help? What if—what if some fucking Peggie went AWOL and cornered her in her room to attack her? It’s been peaceful for a good year now, but fanatics are fanatics.

He walks over to Dep’s door and gently sets his daughter on the ground, against the wall next to the door. She pouts and reaches up for him with her little arms mumbling _dada_.

“Just a sec, kiddo,” Nick says and stands to his full height. “Dada’s just gonna make sure your godmother’s not bleeding to death.”

He cracks open the door, and his eyes immediately fall to the broken glass scattered on the floor.

“Dep?” Nick asks cautiously, poking his head through. “You okay? I heard trouble.”

It’s a lamp on the floor, the standard kind that sits on the night tables in all of the bunker’s rooms. Then his eyes fall on the Deputy, whose hands are flying everywhere as she writhes on the bed, must have been her who knocked over the lamp.

Nick’s lucky, because Jacob and his ass are nowhere in sight. But not too lucky though, because he’s pretty sure that giant lump under the sheets between the Deputy’s legs is exactly the guy he’s terrified of.

Dep opens her eyes, snapping right to Nick at the door. Her pleasured expression—that Nick also wishes he never saw—turns into a livid one in a millisecond.

“You’re _fucking_ kidding me!” She hollers as Jacob’s figure under the sheets tense. “What the fuck dude, get out!”

“Sorry, shit,” Nick almost squeaks, backing out just as Dep throws a pillow at the door. “I thought you were in trouble!”

“Fucking _knock_ next time!”

Nick shuts the door, pale as a sheet, and stands frozen for a few seconds. His brain quietly screams at the universe because he’d walked in on them _again_. This is the punishment he gets for being a fucking concerned friend, huh? He shudders, shutting his eyes tight as if to erase the images burned into his brain forever.

He picks up his daughter from the ground and walks back to his room, mumbling under his breath that it’s not _his_ fault that the Deputy and Jacob are both skirting their daily duties in the bunker to scar him.

 

**+1**

“Why did we only start doing this now?” Rook chuckles as Jacob leads her back to their room in a hurry. Jacob’s hand is sweaty in hers, both of them still damp from the training rooms.

“Because I fuckin’ _knew_ this would happen if we sparred,” Jacob grates, dragging her down the hall—their room like a light at the end of a tunnel. “You’re gonna be the fucking death of me, can’t lose my fuckin’ mind around my soldiers.”

“How long do you think you’d be able to contain yourself if you’re soldiers needed you around after our sparring session?” Rook hums. She knows she’s poking the bear, but they’re so close to their room—their _shower_ —now that she just wants to get him all riled up. “Do you think we would’ve just ended up fucking right there on the mat, for everyone to see?”

Jacob stops in the middle of the hall, and Rook almost crashes into him from the sudden halt of momentum. He pulls her close and backs her into the nearest wall, the way he always does, and kisses her hard. He’s still sweaty, the physical exertion of their sparring still clinging to his skin, and Rook pulls at his damp hair. He groans into her open mouth, rolling his hips into her before he tears himself away.

“We’re not gonna make it to the room,” Jacob breathes low in her ear, sending shivers up her spine.

She ducks out of his arms and grabs his shirt, tugging him down the hallway. “Our favorite supply closet it is, then.”

Rook reaches the closet in seconds, pulling the door open then— _holy shit_. She shuts the door quickly, backing up until she’s crashing into Jacob’s chest.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, lips brushing the top of her head.

Rook pulls him aside with a little nervous cackle, then carefully knocks on the closet door. “You’ll… you’ll see.”

Jacob makes an inquisitive noise against her as the door slowly swings open. Nick and Kim, both flushed in the face, wordlessly exit the supply closet, looking equally disheveled. A grin creeps onto Rook’s face when neither of them can meet her eyes.

“Hey guys,” she says, eyes sharp, especially when she locks eyes with Nick. _Payback, buddy._ “I see you’ve also discovered the wonders of this supply closet.”

They both mumble sheepish words like _haha, yeah dep_ and _we’ll just be going now_ as they hurry back to their room.

“I hope you had someone babysitting our little girl!” Rook calls after them, smug. “Kind of irresponsible parenting to leave her all alone in there while you get your game on.”

“She’s fine,” Nick scowls at her and closes the door.

Jacob walks around her, towards the closet. “Our turn—”

He stops and freezes in the doorframe, expression falling stoic, but his eyes are wide.

 _Aaaand there it is._ Rook thinks she must look crazy right now, with how wide she’s grinning.

“John,” Jacob says blankly, as if he’s acknowledging him the halls instead of finding him in a closet with Rook’s _married_ friends.

“... Jacob,” John replies, his voice steady but quiet.

Jacob steps back from the closet, making way for John’s escape. John emerges from the supply closet, and Rook takes in how _ravished_ he looks—usually perfect hair sticking up everywhere from one ( _or both_ ) of the Ryes running their hands through it, his vest crumpled and unbuttoned, and his shirt even more unbuttoned than it usually is.

John smooths out his vest and looks at the both of them awkwardly, clearing his throat. “See you both at supper.”

And then he’s walking away.

Jacob stands statuesque by the door, a muscle tensing in his jaw as his eyes set on John’s retreating figure. Rook can practically see the gears turning in his head.

She can’t help it, she bursts out laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> inspo: i saw [this](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CAQU_QiU0AExgXp.jpg) old ointb meme and _knew_ what had to be done
> 
> it's funny because this was supposed to be SUPER short but I got a little carried away, and now there's probably gonna be a bonus chapter after this. (with more rook pov and rook/jacob interaction if i really tested yall's patience doing nick's pov with this one)


	2. bonus

It’s Rook’s off-day at the bunker, no important shit to attend to, and she spends it the way she normally does—marathoning the bunkers TV show collection with whoever’s free.

Rook and Sharky are in the middle of _Parks and Recreation_ ’s fourth season, Rook slumped back on the couch and Sharky lying down with his legs stretched over Rook’s lap. She’s got a bowl of popcorn resting on Sharky’s legs, and because of how she’s the one actually sitting properly on the couch, she’s been charged with throwing popcorn into Sharky’s mouth every time he says _hit me_.

Jess lounges on the beanbags by the couch, Boomer quietly dozing at her feet. Jess doesn’t really care for the show. Rook’s pretty sure Jess hasn’t been paying attention at all since her nose is buried in a book.

Nick is half-watching from the little kitchenette ( _it can barely be called that—a coffee machine, a mini-fridge of snacks, and a microwave all on the same cramped table_ ) where he’s stubbornly trying to find space in the mini-fridge to stock the excess of milk he and Kim have for the baby.

“You know there’s space in the main kitchen’s fridge, right?” Rook says over the TV, after hearing Nick curse somewhere behind the couch.

“Yeah, I know Dep, you’ve jus’ about told me six times now, _I get it_.”

“Then why are you torturing yourself with a shitty game of fridge tetris?”

“Hit me,” Sharky says, wiggling the popcorn bowl on his legs.

“Stop squirming you’ll knock the bowl over,” Rook gripes, plucking a piece of popcorn from the top of the pile and tossing it in his direction. She doesn’t even have to see if his mouth catches it, it’s a long-practiced exchange between the both of them now.

“Be _cause_ ,” Nick grumbles. “This is closer to our room—I’ve said this like a million times.”

Jess snorts from behind her book. “Sounds like you’re just being a dumbass for no reason.”

“What she said,” Rook agrees, shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

“Nick Rye,” a low voice says from the doorway. “Need a word with you.”

Everyone startles slightly at Jacob’s sudden appearance. Rook twists to look behind the couch, trapped under the popcorn bowl and Sharky’s legs. “Hey... this isn’t your usual break hour.”

His Judge trots through the doorway, tail wagging happily at the sight of Rook. 

Jacob squares his shoulders back, standing up straighter. It’s then that Rook notices he’s got his knife sheathed at his hip—he’s not usually armed, nobody is at the bunker except when specific circumstances call for it. But he’s in charge of the armory, so it’s likely nobody questioned him about the knife. “Won’t be long. Took a short break for a personal matter.”

Nick shifts uncomfortably by the mini-fridge, scratching at his beard. “Well… what’s this gotta do with me?”

Jacob keeps his eyes narrowed at Nick, but doesn’t answer his question. “Everyone go somewhere else. Now.”

“Aw man,” Sharky mumbles, hitting pause on the remote with a dismayed expression.

“Why the fuck do we have to leave?” Jess scowls. “Go talk to Nick somewhere else.”

_“Out.”_

Rook holds the bowl of popcorn up high as Sharky moves to roll off the couch. He points the remote forward and turns off the TV, then makes a choked noise as he spins around to look at Rook with wide eyes. “Shit wait, do you—”

“I remember the episode we stopped on.”

“Okay cool. See ya later.” Sharky’s shoulders sag, and he gives her a relieved smile. He grabs a handful of popcorn and stuffs it into his mouth before he leaves.

Jess slams her book shut and stands from the beanbag, sending a glare at Jacob for ruining her peace as she walks out of the room. She mutters down to Boomer. “Come on boy, let’s go find Grace.”

Jacob calmly, quietly, pulls up a chair, positioning it in the center of the room. He looks pointedly at Nick. “Have a seat.”

 _Oh_ , Rook thinks, everything clicking together in her head. This has to do with that closet incident from earlier this week. Jacob’s been oddly quiet about that, most likely thinking of what he should do ( _the answer is that he shouldn’t do anything at all, but jacob doesn’t ever watch from the sidelines_ ).

Nick cautiously obeys, walking over to the isolated chair. He squints at Rook, who hasn’t moved from her spot on the couch. “How come you’re not going?”

“Oh, I’m _staying_ ,” Rook says firmly, glancing to Jacob in case he tries to tell her otherwise. His expression remains neutral, fully aware that if he tells her to leave it isn’t gonna do shit. “I need to make sure you come out of this room alive, Nick. Or else Kim will get _so_ pissed.”

Nick goes rigid in the chair. _“Alive?”_

Jacob says nothing, ever enigmatic. He just walks over to the door and turns the mechanism below the doorknob, locking them all in the room. Nick looks increasingly more panicked at that, eyes falling helplessly to Rook. She only shrugs, tossing another piece of popcorn into her mouth.

She knows exactly what Jacob’s doing. She didn’t expect him to do this _now_ , but well, he was gonna roll out intimidation at some point.

Rook shouldn’t be letting this happen. John Seed is a grown ass man who can no doubt take care of himself and his own feelings, so Rook _definitely_ shouldn’t be letting Jacob meddle with that. Meddle with her _friend_ , no less.

Nick probably doesn’t deserve this—but in their brief conversation right after the closet incident, she was only able to steer Jacob away from intimidating Kim. Sure, she could have tried harder ( _well, could have tried in general_ ) but once Jacob Seed sets his mind on something, especially something having to do with his family, he’s a tough guy to dissuade.

That, and if Rook is being honest with herself, the idea of messing with Nick sounds hilarious.

“Someone please tell me what’s going on,” Nick asks desperately.

Rook chews loudly on her popcorn. “You’re in trouble, I think.”

“What do you think of John, _Nick_?” Jacob says, turning around slowly from the door. The words drag out of him slowly, his voice a tad lower and rougher. He walks slowly towards Nick in the chair, one long leg swinging in front of the other. There’s something familiar about it, and Rook realizes she saw this exact same strut and slow crawl of his voice over a year ago, when he still did his _cull the herd_ lectures.

Rook shovels more popcorn into her mouth. He never calls Nick anything aside from _Rye_. This is gonna be good.

Nick splutters, the base of his neck pinkening. “I don’t—what do I _think_ of John? What the fuck kind of question is that?”

“Yeah, what kind of question is that?” Rook parrots. Jacob shoots her a dangerous look from where he stands over Nick.

“Exactly, thank you!” Nick says.

“We obviously know what he thinks of John,” Rook continues, rolling her eyes. “Considering we found the three of them in that closet.”

That gets Jacob to smile, made of ice and too many teeth. The Judge must pick up whatever weird threatening energy Jacob’s giving off, because without command he circles around Jacob and Nick once, teeth bared and tail no longer wagging playfully.

“Whose side are you on?” Nick looks at Rook incredulously, eyes nearly bulging.

“Sorry, Nick. You’re right, you’re right,” she amends, ducking her head down to hide the grin she can’t stifle. “I’ll be quiet.”

Jacob continues on, drawing his knife out slowly. “So, _Nick_ —”

“Why do you keep saying my name like that?”

“—you know what would happen if I cut this across your throat?” Jacob tilts Nick’s head with the tip of the knife, craning his neck all the way up to look Jacob in the eye. The Judge backs up from them stopping a few feet away and resting on the floor, watching Nick attentively.

“Dep, seriously, can you get him the _fuck_ away from me,” Nick squirms, starting to sweat.

Rook says nothing, but she narrows her eyes curiously at Jacob. She trusts him not to actually _do_ anything… but this could, in fact, be a little much.

Jacob makes a displeased sound, rumbling low in his throat. “Answer the question, Nick.”

“Fuck! Uh—I’d fucking _die?_ Jacob, man, come on. I thought you weren’t evil anymore.”

“Correct,” Jacob hums, ignoring Nick’s other protests. “But y’know what would happen if I cut just a little? Right here?” He drags the knife across to the side, right around the carotid. “You’d bleed out _slowly_. Guess how long it’d take for you to die?”

“Um—”

“About ten minutes. Ten _long_ minutes. Gives you a lot of time to think, before the inevitable.” The Jacob pulls away, giving Nick space to breathe again, and swaggers towards the couch. He stops right by Rook, casually resting against the back of the couch and reaching out to pick up a piece of popcorn from the bowl in Rook’s hands. He pops the piece into his mouth, and if there’s a menacing way to chew on popcorn, he’s definitely succeeding at it. “So, _Nick_. What do you think of John?”

Nick looks better now that Jacob is no longer holding a knife to him, but he visibly struggles with the question. “What the fuck do you mean by that? What do I _think?”_

Jacob rolls his eyes, then draws his words out slowly the way one explains something to a child. “What are your _intentions_ with my brother?”

“Oh Jesus H. Christ,” Nick scoffs, incredulous. “Why are you only asking _me_ this? Why isn’t Kim here too?”

“Like I’d ever let him get at Kim,” Rook chimes in. Jacob shrugs as an answer.

Nick looks at her with disbelief. “But you’d let him loose on _me?”_

Rook shrugs, sighing dramatically. “Can’t save ‘em all.”

“Answer my fucking question,” Jacob says abruptly. His gaze cuts Nick into a million little pieces, Rook scoffs and rolls her eyes at the theatrics. “What do you want with John?”

Rook frowns, side-eyeing Jacob. “Obviously he and Kim want John’s—”

“Do _not_ finish that sentence.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll shut up.”

A silence lapses as Jacob stares expectantly at Nick, expression grim. The Judge prowls towards Nick, snapping his teeth.

“Alright, fuck,” Nick whines. He mutters something cranky under his breath. “I don’t—I don’t know what I fucking think, okay? This shit is just… _confusing_.”

Rook snorts, tossing another piece of popcorn into her mouth.

Nick scowls at her. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s nothing,” she says, making a face. “Just sounds familiar.”

Nick rolls his eyes, dragging his gaze back to Jacob. “Is that—look man, that’s all I’ve got for you. We’re winging it, I really don’t fucking know. So… is that all? Can I go without having to sleep with a gun under my pillow?”

The Judge creeps closer to Nick, growling low.

Jacob regards Nick for a moment, lower lip jutting out into a thoughtful pout. He crosses his arms, one hand tapping the flat of his knife against his chin, eyes squinting off into the distance like he’s _really_ thinking. _Asshole._ Rook leans up on the couch and slaps his arm, not caring about the fact that he’s holding a knife close to his face.

He glares down at her, the knife catching in the light. Rook scowls right back, jerking her head towards where Nick is sweating bullets, narrowing her eyes for emphasis. _Play nice,_ she mouths. Though _‘nice’_ might be a request long gone.

“Seriously, dude, call your fuckin’ wolf off,” Nick says, the chair creaking as he leans away from the Judge. “Why the hell are you even doing this? I’m pretty sure your brother can take care of himself.”

“He shouldn’t have to,” Jacob mutters quietly. He looks back to Nick and sheathes the knife with a sigh. “Down.” the Judge backs away from Nick, going back to Jacob’s side. Jacob waves a dismissive hand. “Talk’s over. Go on, get outta here. Do whatever crap you do during the day, I don’t care.”

“Well, obviously that’s gonna be Jo—”

 _“Dep,”_ Jacob warns the same time Nick covers his face.

Rook snickers and her hand claws at empty air inside the bowl. “Fuck. Empty.”

Nick hops out of the chair and strides towards the door, the expression on his face screaming _flee_. “I’m getting the fuck out of here, you can count on that. Uh, later Deputy.”

“Could you tell Sharky to come back if you see him?” Rook calls as Nick unlocks the door and bails out of the recreational room. “We haven’t finished the episode. Ooh, tell him to get more popcorn from the mess hall!”

“Whatever!” Nick hollers irately, disappearing down the halls. He’ll probably run into Sharky. Probably.

Rook twists around on the couch until she’s facing the TV again, leftover kernels rattle in the bowl as she sets it down on the table. Jacob leans down from his seat at the top of the couch, stopping until his beard tickles the shell of her ear.

“You know, I don’t like to be undermined when I’m threatening someone.”

 _“Warning_ someone,” Rook corrects. “And please, you were already undermined. We all knew you weren’t _actually_ gonna hurt Nick. He knew it too. Just be glad you got him to shit his pants.”

A hand tangles into her hair, tugging slightly to tilt her head up. “Still undermined my _warning_. Gonna find a way to make it up to me?”

“I’m not making up shit,” Rook scoffs, pulse picking up when Jacob drags his lips across her jaw. “Don’t you have people to train? You—you better go before Sharky gets back, we’ve already scarred Nick, I don’t wanna—”

Jacob cuts her off with a kiss. Rook opens her mouth to it automatically, hands latching onto his shirt to tug him down for more. Jacob makes an appreciative sound, low in his throat, and his hand tugs a little harder on her hair.

“Hey Dep, Nick said you wanted to see—whoa,” Sharky’s voice says somewhere in the room behind Jacob. Rook breaks away from Jacob to look over him, seeing Sharky by the open door. Jacob leans back up with an irritated sigh he has reserved only for Sharky or Hurk’s presence. He sits up straighter and nods blankly at Sharky, giving him the barest of acknowledgements.

“Hey, Shark,” Rook grins, still a little breathy from the kiss.

“Oh, guys, um,” Sharky shuffles further into the room, glancing down at the floor awkwardly and looking back up at them. He takes off his hat, starts twisting it between fidgety hands. “Listen, I am _flattered_ , fuckin’ chuffed, really. But. But even I know my limits, y’know, and I hope this doesn’t screw the pooch with you and me’s friendship Dep, but uh—sorry, I can’t do this.” He sticks a ringed finger out, pointing between the three of them and ending the motion with a jittery circle. “I’d _love_ to, but you guys are just… too intense for me. Too many feelings or somethin’. Sorry.”

Jacob goes completely still, looking at Sharky like he’s trying to figure out any other way he could have meant that. Rook opens her mouth to speak, but ends up gaping like a fish for several seconds.

“You…” Rook frowns, squinting at Sharky. “I just wanted us to finish the episode of _Parks and Rec_. Did you—did you just turn us down for an offer we never made?”

“Oh, damn. Thank God.” Sharky lets out a relieved bark of laughter, putting his hat back on and clapping his hands together. “Dude, you had me going there for a second. Nick made it sound like—”

Jacob stands abruptly, striding out of the room without so much as a goodbye. He pauses in the doorway, whistling sharply, and continues on when his Judge starts trailing after him.

“I think you broke him,” Rook says after a moment.

Sharky shrugs, his face just saying _yikes_ , and crosses the room with a few long steps. “My bad?”

“Seriously, I thought that Kim and Nick and John thing broke him. But you—you _really_ broke him.” Rook’s stunned expression falters, going over Sharky’s words in her head again. She looks sharply at him, scowling. “Should I be offended?”

Sharky shrugs, flopping onto the couch. “Where’s the popcorn?”

“Nick didn’t tell you to get more before you got here?”

“Nope. All he said was _‘Dep wants to see you. They’re probably fuckin’ right now by the way’.”_

“Man,” Rook grumbles. “Fuck Nick.”

“That’s what Kim and John said.”

“Oh god, you can’t let them know I told you about that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when sharky and dep finish parks and rec sharky cries for a week straight


End file.
